Chester man to be sentenced Sept. 16 for sex assault of girl

BRENTWOOD — A sentencing date has been set for a Chester man convicted of sexually assaulting a young girl and possessing child pornography.

Gary Britton, 60, will learn his sentence Sept. 16 once probation officials complete an investigation and recommend a state prison sentence.

.Judge N. William Delker, who presided over all four of Britton’s cases stemming from his September 2011 arrest, will ultimately decide Britton’s fate.

Britton’s sentencing was initially set for Friday, but probation and parole officials said they needed more time to complete their report...He could essentially face a life sentence due to a 1983 conviction for aggravated felonious sexual assault.

The prior conviction makes him eligible for a 20- to 40-year prison term on both sets of charges.

In May, Britton was convicted by a jury of sexually abusing the girl on an ongoing basis for four years starting in 1991 when she was 9. A week after being convicted in that case, he pleaded guilty to 10 counts of possession of child sexual abuse images found on his computer.

Britton was hit with an avalanche of charges stemming from the Sept. 22, 2011, search of his home computer...A forensic search of the computer led to charges of sexual assault on the young girl in the 1990s and child pornography. He was also arrested for failing to register as a sex offender and being a felon in possession of a handgun...Britton served jail time for his conviction for failure to register and was given a suspended sentence for illegally possessing the weapon.

Chester police obtained an arrest warrant and charged Britton with failing to register as a sex offender, and his landlord called police when he discovered child pornography in plain sight on the computer...jkimble@newstote.com..